John Egan was withdrawn midway through Sheffield United's victory over West Bromwich Albion after complaining of a tight calf muscle, manager Chris Wilder confirmed.

John Egan of Sheffield United rises above Matt Phillips of West Bromwich Albion: Simon Bellis/Sportimage

The centre-half, who was replaced by Richard Stearman, has been a mainstay of United's rearguard since arriving from Brentford for a club record fee seven months ago.

With fellow defenders Jack O'Connell and George Baldock missing the visit to The Hawthorns through injury, United's already depleted rearguard suffered a further blow when Martin Cranie joined Egan on the touchline during the closing stages of the game suffering from a similar problem.

Acknowledging wing-back Marvin Johnson was also running on empty towards the end of the 1-0 win, Wilder said: "We lost John Egan at half-time and Martin Cranie's calf tightened up and Marvin Johnson has not played a lot of football. We have won a tight game against some good players."

United, who return to action against arch-rivals Sheffield Wednesday on March 4, regained second place in the Championship table thanks to Kieran Dowell's header Darren Moore's side remained in fourth. The match saw Wilder's team record another victory over a promotion rival in the space of 10 days following a similarly tight game against Middlesbrough at Bramall Lane.

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"There are bits and pieces for us to work on, but it has been a good day against a team who are in and around us," Wilder said.

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